Page 82 of The Wrong Side Of Us

Evie bit her lip thoughtfully, though we both knew she would ask for the same things as always.

“I’ll have the strawberry-filled donut and a dozen donut holes. You, babe?”

I scratched the back of my head. “I thought the donut holes were for me,” I whispered in her ear.

She frowned. “Why would you think that?”

Bad idea.

Don’t go there.

“You know what? I’ll have just a glazed donut,” I said to the elderly woman. She seemed amused at our interaction.

“How far along are you?” she asked Evelyn.

“Sixteen weeks, actually,” Evie said with a bright smile. I took out my card, handing it over to the woman while they made small talk.

Evelyn couldn’t hide her excitement. Her eyes lit up every time she talked about the baby, and I loved hearing her.

“Here,” the woman said, giving Evie another bag of donut holes. “For the baby.” She winked.

“Thank you so much,” she squealed.

I left the cash I had in the little tip jar that she had on the counter, watching the woman’s eyes widen with the amount. Evie went and sat down at a booth and started eating when the woman stopped me.

“Oh, that’s not necessary son,” she whispered. “She seems like a sweet young lady. I just wanted to give her a little something.”

“Your actions weren’t necessary, either.” I smiled. “Keep it and thank you.”

I sat across from Evie, paying close attention to her gestures and never-ending motions as she spoke. It was one of the things that always drew me to her; she was expressive, even in the way she spoke.

My parents had always thought of Hannah as dull. Boring.

She wasn’t, I didn’t think. But her priorities were different. There was never time for anything other than work, and without love between us, nothing held us together.

I would have never been able to love her, and she would have never been able to love me. We were incompatible.

“You’re not paying attention to me.”

Evie’s accusation brought me back to reality. She wasn’t angry; she was simply stating it.

“What are you thinking?”

I cleared my throat. “I heard about a house.” Her eyes widened. We hadn’t decided quite yet, but I started to look for houses. I was sure I’d found one that she would like.

“Where is it?” she asked, trying to hide her excitement.

“About forty minutes from here. It’s a bit far, but I think we can make it work. I think you’ll like it.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded, taking her hand in mine. “We can also look at staying in the city. Maybe find a larger place? It’s up to you, baby.”

“Well, I’m staying open minded. Whatever feels right is what we’ll do.”

I agreed.

After eating, we both headed to the gallery in a cab, making small conversation with the man who drove us. He was perhaps in his mid-thirties and was telling us all about how his teenage daughter was driving him insane. Boys were chasing her around, he said, and it wasn’t something that he appreciated.

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